Depends on the size of the bike. If I'm on the 250cc scooter, that 15-30 would be my limit. If I'm on the Goldwing I could take a stronger wind. I mean, it wouldn't be fun, but I could do it.
How much is too much wind
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15-30 is windy but not a big deal, we see that all the time. 30-40 is where it gets interesting, especially if it's gusty out that takes a lot of concentration and takes a lot of fun out of the ride, but it's doable. I've ridden home from work many times in this kind of weather, and once for about 8 hours across one of the plains/ Midwest states, I think it was Minnesota, though it might have been Iowa, either way it was a constant 30+ all day, I actually had a wear pattern on one side of my tires at the end of the day.
Bridges and structures near the road can be interesting on days like this, I was riding around lake Erie one really WINDY day and suddenly found myself on the Buffalo Skyway, which is about 150 feet high, curved, has low sides and often closes in windy weather..I had no idea it was even there till I saw it, and with a semi coming up behind me at 80 mph slowing down or having him pass seemed like a poor choice, so it was gun it and go... Everything went fine but there was a definite pucker factor that day
Bridges and structures near the road can be interesting on days like this, I was riding around lake Erie one really WINDY day and suddenly found myself on the Buffalo Skyway, which is about 150 feet high, curved, has low sides and often closes in windy weather..I had no idea it was even there till I saw it, and with a semi coming up behind me at 80 mph slowing down or having him pass seemed like a poor choice, so it was gun it and go... Everything went fine but there was a definite pucker factor that day
Folks may scoff at that and question it but it's true. You can see the results of riding all day if you don't have too many curves. Arizona gets me every time.15-30 is windy but not a big deal, we see that all the time. 30-40 is where it gets interesting, especially if it's gusty out that takes a lot of concentration and takes a lot of fun out of the ride, but it's doable. I've ridden home from work many times in this kind of weather, and once for about 8 hours across one of the plains/ Midwest states, I think it was Minnesota, though it might have been Iowa, either way it was a constant 30+ all day, I actually had a wear pattern on one side of my tires at the end of the day.
Bridges and structures near the road can be interesting on days like this, I was riding around lake Erie one really WINDY day and suddenly found myself on the Buffalo Skyway, which is about 150 feet high, curved, has low sides and often closes in windy weather..I had no idea it was even there till I saw it, and with a semi coming up behind me at 80 mph slowing down or having him pass seemed like a poor choice, so it was gun it and go... Everything went fine but there was a definite pucker factor that day
Yikes! Not sure what is a big sail boat to you, but on a production-built 40 foot charter boat, much more than 20 and I am reefing. Over about 30 and I am looking for the dock/shelter/waterside burger joint. Sustained winds of about 30 on a popular brand of production catamaran caused several of the lugs to pup out of the mast. If we'd been on an overnight passage, we might have lost that sail. (As it was, we only needed to cross about 50 miles of open water and we arrived in time to tie up, fix the boat, and go out for beers. :grin
As for motorcycles, my wife's BMW G310R is lightweight and relatively tall, so it reacts strongly to sidewinds. She has to work a lot harder even in 15 of wind. My Harley, on the other hand, has a really low center of gravity and weighs well over 700 pounds. Wind doesn't seem to be a big deal on that bike, at last in the 25-30 range. Never been out in more than that.
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